The Prodigal Daughter
by a440
Summary: A sequel to bhut's Survival Of The Fittest, and continuing from IICY, Brittany loses everything that she had once gained. Rated M for some chapters. Part of an Iron Chef challenge and #1 of The Thomson/Taylor Chronicles.
1. Prologue

The Prodigal Daughter

A trademark of MTV

Partially a sequel to bhut's Survival Of the Fittest, and some elements of my own after IICY..

Prologue

From the Lawndale Sun Herald:

FAMILY FOUND DEAD AFTER BEAR ATTACK

What started out as a hunting trip in the wild turned into tragedy when Douglas Thomson,  
his wife Charlene and their son Kevin were found dead as a result of a bear attack.

Heavy handed cuts to the head torso and throat were found on Douglas and Kevin, while Charlene was crushed to death by the bear's weight. The bear was later tracked down and shot.

Since the Thomsons have no other family members and no next of kin to leave behind, their bodies will be buried in pauper's graves on Four Pace Hill in Lawndale. It is unknown as to how or why the tragedy happened, and it is apparent the Thomson property will be claimed by the bank, and all possessions sent to charity.

Obviously, the news reached Kevin Thomson's old flame, Brittany Taylor; upon reading the newspaper, she turned pale....and wailed,  
"Kevvy gone?!? No, not Kevvy!! Please not Kevvy!! He can't be dead!  
He just can't be dead!!"

Crumbling to the floor, all Brittany could do, was cry bitterly.......if only she knew that Kevin's death was the start of her bad luck.......

The best laid schemes of mice and bimbos go awry, and it just started with the former head cheerleader of Lawndale High. And that is just a start.

-a440.

Coming up: Trouble With The IRS 


	2. Trouble With The IRS

Like the goverment said, pay the $2!!

-a440

Trouble With The IRS

"There's got to be a mistake," said Brittany to her tax expert.

"'Fraid there's no mistake," said Andy Brown, the IRS expert. "It seems your husband had taken all the money you had made with your fortune and fame, and gambled it away in the hopes of building up a larger fortune, but when he didn't count crook on was the fact that in investor he had hired was a crook that used the money to set up a housing development, but the whole deal fell through due to the bad economy so it seems the only way to pay the debt off is to auction off everything you've got over to the IRS. After that, we've got your future to deal with, after all, the biggest worry is whatever you've got enough to pay them off, otherwise, it may mean jail time for you."

"But I had to pay off the funeral expenes for my children when they died of injuries from the plane crash," said Brittany. "Besides, I can just tell my boss to set me up with a new position for a new project and I can raise up enough money to settle the rest of my debt."

"Good luck to you then," said Andy. "But may I remind you, if your husband hadn't gotten custody of your children during your divorce, you wouldn't had no trouble.  
If he had paid his alimony before he died. But let's not forget the back taxes you owe.  
well.......good luck, Brittany."

But as it turned out, Brittany's hopes of making money to pay her debts, along with her back taxes, faded, due to fate.

"What do you mean you got to lay me off?" said Brittany to her boss, John Ross.

"You must understand," said John, "Due to the recession and the national enconomy at critical levels, and much of the nation's money having been overspent by the politicians,  
we've had to lay off a lot of people here, and sad to say, you're on the list."

"But how will I pay off my debts? Not to mention my back taxes?" said Brittany.

"You should've taken a cue from The Grasshopper & The Ants, and saved some money," said John.

"But my no good, faithless wastrel of a husband spent it all on his %*#$^ gambling habits," shot back Brittany.

"What can I say," said John, shrugging. "Next time, take the train."

As expected, the auction went into effect, as every last piece of property, even all her valued possessions went up on the auction block, and worse still, when it was over, Brittany was homeless, living in a cut rate flop house, until a knock on the door came with a police officer named Gord Baer, who arrested her for nonpayment for her back taxes. Even worse, without the help of her parents Steve and Ashley Amber, who disowned her for her financial fiasco, it meant Brittany was set for some jail time--12 years of jail time in the Oakwood Women's Correctional Jail.

They say pride comes before a downfall, and it can happen even to all the practical and righteous ones. Even to the famous, proof that, not every celeb gets a slap on the wrist, nor is above the law.

--a440.

Coming up: Brittany Behind Bars 


	3. Brittany Behind Bars

Despite what you see in films and TV, there's no glamor in jail life, and believe me, the lesson hits hard.  
--a440

Brittany Behind Bars

As expected, prison life was anything but groovy tunes for Brittany when she first arrived, and at first sight, she could see the signs of trouble: some women convicts that looked skinny, fat, tattooed, pierced, and in some cases, all of the above. Some women were mugging one female, another had a shank to shake down another woman, and one woman looked like a butch. For the moment, Brittany, in her orange prison uniform, walked warily......up to now, she wasn't scared when it came to mugging people like rival cheerleaders, as well as Kevin.....but now, for the first time, Brittany felt like she was in their shoes as the victimized, with suspicious stares from some of the women, some pointing her out, and some making kissy faces at her.

Just then, a braided tailed brunette came up to Brittany with a friendly look on her face, saying, "Hey, name's Deidre. I was sent up the river for stealing car parts. What're you in for?"

"Nonpayment of my back taxes," said Brittany glumly.

"Say, you wouldn't be that super star that got busted on such charges, would you? The one that had to auction off her stuff?"  
said Deidre.

Shuddering, the blonde stammered, "N-n-n-n-n-no, I couldn't be!  
You got me mistaken for someone else, eep!!"

"Strange," said Deidre. "you sure look like her. Anyhow, I happen to be harmless. Least they assigned me to be your cellmate. Your name?"

"Just put me down as Bree, OK?" said Brittany.

"Bree, eh?" said Deidre, "Well, let's get you set up when we're sent to our cells."

At that moment, a seven foot tall slender redhead with green eyes, wearing 50's type glasses her five foot long braid trailing behind her, stepped up to Brittany and glowering at the now shocked blonde, spoke in an menacing Austrailian accent, "Ah........my meat........you must be a newcomer here."

"Leave her alone, Adair," said Deidre calmly, "she's not causing any trouble."

"You know the rules, Deed," said Adair, "don't do anything to make me argo, ay, and know when to know your place when it comes to newbie sheilas like your friend here."

Brittany was already sensing the worst, twiddling her thumbs......until Adair cast a glare at her, and said, "Your name, meat?"

"B-B-B-B-Bree," said the fearful blonde, who was even now wishing she were someplace else.

"B-B-B-B-Bree, ay?" sneered Adair in a snide way reminiscent of Sandi. "A dinki-di newbie of a sheila if I ever saw one, ay? You think you can parade 'round here and think you can be friendly with a bluey like me in just one avro? Think again,  
drongo!! I don't take kindly to newbies that turn out to be wowsers, stickybeaks,  
sooks and ratbags, especially if they cross me path and get me so agro!! What I say goes in the cell block here, and I fear neither me fellow cons, nor the police here. I stand as a law onto myself, for I want what I see, and I take what I see, whatever if anyone likes it or not!! We may be in a well guarded gaol, but I make the rules here!  
In fact, I dreamed of havin' a blonde like you for me sheila, and you MAY just fit me requisites, ay."

"Now, Adair," cautioned Deidre, "She's a new girl here, you don't know if she's a nice girl or not. Remember what happened to the last one you had?"

"In case you forgot," said Adair, who, as fate would have it, was already lusting for the now terrified Brittany (and I don't blame her), "Nice girls stand as number one on me list."

"EEP!!" squeaked Brittany, wishing she had died in a fate similar to Kevin and his family.

Already, Adair was caressing Brittany's face with her long red fingernails, breathing,  
"What a beauty of a face.......those eyes.......that mouth..........the rest of you so dinkum.  
I think you're the one for me. Follow me rules if you want to live, and everything'll be apples. Till then, see you 'round, B-B-B-B-Bree."

Already both Deidre and Brittany could sense the worst, when Adair grabbed the former Lawndale High cheerleader by her face and kissed her full on the mouth, hard,then turned and ran off. After that, Brittany spat out the taste of Adair's lip gloss and said, her voice wavering, "Who was that?"

"Adair Celbano," replied Deidre. "She was an immigrant from New South Wales in Austrailia when she immigrated years ago, and was a trafficker in drugs. It wasn't until she was arrested on on murder charges, and ever since she came here, she's been a bully extrodinnaire, terrorizing the convicts here, making the weak as her 'brides,' and worse still, discreetly arranging for murders with those no longer in her favor--making them look like accidents. But stick with me,  
and maybe things will get better."

"But that Adair.......," whimpered Brittany, tears welling up in her eyes.

"For your sake," said Deidre, "I hope she forgets you; she's been known to lose interest, but that only comes once in a blue moon."

Despite Deidre's comfoting words, it wasn't enough to inspire confidence for Brittany, with occassional fights at the cafeteria tables now and then among other convicts, till the guard force came by to drag the fighters away;  
everytime a fight broake out, she would always hide under a table. But worst of all, would be, not too far away,  
Adair stealing glances at Brittany, making kissy faces and saying, "Whoo, B-B-B-B-Bree, wink, wink!!" Then,  
when Brittany and Deidre went to bed in their shared cell (which had magazine and newspaper clippings,  
the blonde couldn't help but stare out the window of her cell door to the other side of the hallway, into the next cell, where there were two other cons, who looked almost like Stacy and Quinn, the former already laying on her bed, and the latter finishing up with brushing her teeth, before she went to her cellmate, the Stacy clone saying, "Hi, baby," and the Quinn carbon copy climing up in to her bunk.

"What did I do to deserve it?" sobbed the former head cheerleader of Lawndale High.

Glossary to Adair's Aussie speak:

Agro: angry.

Arvo: afternoon.

Ay: a verbal question mark that many Aussies attach to the end of a sentence.

Apples: OK, to be OK.

Beauty: (pronounced bue-dee) great, okay, fantastic.

Bluey: a red-haired person.

Dinki-di: true, genuine. Usually used to say that something is real good, it's dinki-di.

Dinkum: as above - true, genuine.

Drongo:a foolish person, slow witted, an idiot.

Gaol: jail.

Ratbag: A rascal or a rogue.

Sheila: A woman.

Sook: A shy, timid person or a person that cries all the time.

Stickybeak: A busybody.

Wowser: A party pooper.

Thought you should know, right?  
--a440

Coming up: Jailbird Blues 


	4. Jailbird Blues

Never turn your back, because your enemy may strike you from behind when you least sense it.  
--a440

Jailbird Blues

In the morning as part of her sentence, Brittany and several other cons were rounded into a chain gang before loaded onto a bus, then driven to the side of one of Oakwood's highways. Their task, to pull weeds and mow the growing lawns of grass.

On that day, there was good news and bad news for the blonde; good news that her fast friend Deidre was with her, but bad news that Adair was there as well in the chain gang--and to her dismay, the Austrailian was once again making kissy faces and saying, "coooooeeeeee,"  
at her.

Turning to her friend at one point, Brittany asked, "How long you in for?"

"Fourteen years," said Deidre glumly. "Today's my second day.  
Say by the way, like my new braid tails?"

That was something Brittany hadn't noticed until just now; with Deidre's newly done braids at the sides of her head, she almost looked like an older version of Stacy Rowe, from the old days of Lawndale High, only without the makeup.

"Looks good," said the blonde. "You remind me of an old classmate I knew back at my old high school, Lawndale High."

Brightening up, Deidre said, "I had a sister that went to Lawndale,  
Didi was her name. And your friend's name?'

"Stacy Rowe," replied the blonde, "a member of a group called The Fashion Club, led by some crazy diva named Sandi Griffin, whose mom was a bigwig at KSBC."

"Y' know," said Deidre, "Sandi and me were old childhood chums for years. We used to play around a lot behind a beauty parlor, until she met up with two other friends, which soon evolved into some kind of cliquey group--was that The Fashion Club you were referring to?"

"Seems like it," said the former cheerleader.

"So, for the record," said Deidre, "how long you in for?"

"Twelve years," said Brittany, "twelve LONG years, especially having to deal with all those con bullies here."

"You're lucky," said Deidre. "Maybe, if I get paroled at the end of my fourteen years, we can meet again someplace, some day. Maybe it's time my stretch in the jug here could be my wake up call for stealing car parts."

"Thanks," said Brittany. "At least I don't have to pick up the pieces alone."

"If we ever get our chance to spring outa here," said Deidre wistfully,"  
"we're heading for Texas where things can be so less complicated."

"Texas....," said the former head cheerleader. "I've had it with Lawndale,  
and I've given up on everything else. Texas it is, where we'll meet."

Back at The Oakwood Women's Correctional Jail, it was visiting day when Brittany was called over to the visiting section--where, days after her fall from grace, was her stepmother, Ashley Amber, who bawled her head off upon seeing her stepdaughter in her jail outfit, behind bulletproof glass, cried like a baby for some time, then wailed, "Brittany, you're a convict!!"

"Why're you blaming it on me?" said the blonde. "I didn't lose all that money, gambling, my late husband did!!"

"But you should've done something like keep you eye on your money," said Ashley Amber. "If you had kept track of your finances, you would've been safe!! For shame!!"

"So how was I to know?" moaned the former head cheerleader, convinced that her longtime stepmother had kicked her out from the family for good........

The hours seemed like an eternity that second day in jail for Brittany, and it was getting even worse, when she stepped out from the shower, and had finished drying off and into a clean uniform--

--and then, from the shadow of the lockers, Adair came from behind and grabbed Brittany, her hand rubbing her midriff, and singing, "Bree's right where I want her,  
here comes the bride, and I, Adair want her now, glowing with pride."

Fearing that her worst fears of Adair violating her, Brittany could only shiver in terror;  
for years, she had been a tough gal, when it came to fighting with rival girls, Kevin,  
even a striker at a market once in Lawndale.......but now, for the first time in years,  
she fianlly met up with someone bigger and stronger and more aggressive than her,  
and the Austrailian was ready to drive her to tears.

"Y-you can't make me your bride," said the blonde fearfully. "You can't mean that!!"

"Wanna bet, me sheila?" said Adair. "After I get through with you, you MAY reconsider."

"You mean, make me your lover?" gasped Brittany. "EEP!!"

"Too right, Bree," said the Austrailian. "but first, a gentle reminder......."

Without warning and with inhuman timing, Adair spun Brittany around, slammed her up against one wall, and punched her an unlucky thriteen times, shouting, "Eye of the tiger!!" over and over. For that matter, the Austrailian wasn't just hitting the blonde bimbo, she was mauling her with granite hard blows, her fists punching like timed pistons, till after the 13th hit, Brittany whimpered, "What's that for? I didn't do anything!!"

"Too right," said the Austrailian, a look of glee on her face. "so think of it as a sample and imagine what's earmarked for me sheila if you DO something to make me agro, right?"

"Remember the saying," said the now stammering blonde, 'The lion shalt lie down with the lamb.'"

"Too right," said the glowering Adair, "but no one said anything 'bout the lion getting up again--so don't go quoting bible stuff to me in a game and trying the 'holier than thou' $^&*#%. If you are such a sweet and innocent person, what the sex are you doing playing cyber games in here? Huh?"

"But I never played any cyber games at all," said Brittany.

"Like I said," replied Adair, "I make the rules......so, let's get to what's important here.  
making you me sheila and me bride........"

Taking out from her pocket, Adair produced a paper lip print stencil and a red felt tip marker,  
then placing the stencil against Brittany's forehead, used the marker to trace the outlines of the stencil, so there, on the blonde's forhead, was a red lip print; after that, the Australian came closer and kissed the lip print and added, "Now.........we're married. Just remember the sampled reminder and everything should be apples--oh, almost forgot......"

Adair reached in her pocket again, and took out a small make up kit, and and heavily appied lipstick to Brittany's mouth, eye shadow and mascara and blush to her face, before saying, "At last......now you're a bonzer sheila for me........life can be SO goood--I was worried 'bout you defeating me plans, but I feel much better now......."

"Oh, no.......!!" moaned Brittany.

When it came to bed time, the last of the scheduled cons went in their cells; Deidre was waiting for Brittany...and then she came just in time before her cell door was electrically locked for the night.

"What kept you, Bree?" said Deidre. "You almost missed your bedtime."

To her surprise, the former head cheerleader, once a strong, tough brave girl of Lawndale High,  
was now a shaking, wimpering crying gril, tears streaming all over her face, mixing with the lipstick, mascara, eyeshadow and blush, the bruises all over her face and body, and her hair messed up in the worst way--and the drawn lip print that Adair did on her forehead.

"Bree.......!!" hissed Deidre in fear. "What happened......?!?" Then, upon seeing the pesudo lip print on Brittany's forehead, she gasped, "Did Adair do that to you?!?"

Nodding her head, the blonde sobbed brokenly, "Right after that, she made me her 'bride'  
and got that make up on my face....and.......and......and.....and......!!!!" Instantly, she bawled and was hysterically crying; Deidre hugged her, occasionally kissing Brittany's tears away.

"I wish Kevvy were here......!!" sobbed the former head cheerleader.

Is there no hope at all? Seems everywhere you turn around, fate plays another cruel hand all the time.

--a440.

Coming up: Tensions 


	5. Tensions

Some wag once said that it's human to make a mistake;  
now how disturbing is that?  
--a440

Tensions

Before going to bed, Deidre helped Brittany wash the makeup off her face; the ink lip print was a different story, becuase it was waterproof ink, meaning it would have to wear off, given time.

For Brittany Taylor, in 12 years time, she'd be moving from a jail to an isolation ward in an insane asylum;  
two days with Adair was bad enough, but to deal with her for 12 long years was a living hell, something that Daria Morgendorffer had pointed out to her many times.

After coming back from another long chain gang session of pulling weeds and mowing grass, Brittany was in the prison rec yard.....and that was when she saw Adair terrorizing another girl the looked like an older version of Sandi, by trying to pull her in close for a kiss and the other woman was pulling away from her, shouting, "Leave me alone!!!!!" the livid Aussie pulling her and shouting, "Quiet!! It's for your own good!! Someday, you will thank me for making you me newest sheila!! I said, stop fighting,  
or I'll hurt you!!"

For Brittany, it was bad enough that the Austrailian would use strong arm blackmail and worse to make a "bride" out of her,  
it was even worse to be violated and bullied, even sexually harrassed, but what Adair was doing right now, was too far.  
Spurred on by what she had been trough and what she just saw, combined with losing everything, even Kevin, the long sustained rage, bravery and strength that had been snuffed out by the past events, came to a boil.......and because of that, the blonde boldly approached Adair, and having been taught in the Take Back The Night seminars, sponsored by the late Janet Barch, lashed out with a Muy Thai kick to the Aussie's butt, causing her to lose her grip on her victim, who ran off to safety; Adair, on the other hand, furiously whirled to the former head cheerleader, and demanded,  
"Why'd you kick me, sheila?"

"Knock that off," said a grim Brittany, her fists balled up.  
"I ain't your shiela no more."

"And I say you're STILL me sheila!!" shot back Adair. "Remember my gentle reminder?"

"Hang your %*#$^& reminder," charged Brittany. "You think it's fun, acting like a retard, turning cons into lezzies?  
You think it's fun, shaking down women and girls for sex?  
You get your kicks with trafficking drugs and murdering people and using blackmail and such?"

"Crikey," muttered the Austrailian, "I see you're begging for some re education...."

At that point, Adair swung her fist, but Brittany dodged it and kicked the Aussie in her stomach; doubled over, she groaned,  
"Y-you f**kwit.....!!" and that was when the blonde pulled off of Adair her glasses, the Aussie getting up in pain and squinting.  
"Me glasses!! You bastard!! What the ^$&*%# did you do to me glasses?!?"

In reply, Brittany threw Adair's glasses on the ground, and stomped on them, breaking the lenses, and on hearing the shattering noise,  
an enraged Adair yelled, "Me glasses!! I can't see without them!! You.  
you......you.......you f**kwit!! You're stoopid!! You're ^&$$###*%^ stoopid!!"

Despite her current condition, the Austrailian got up and was charging at the blonde throwing punches and kicks, just as her shank fell out;  
seeing the hand made weapon, Brittany grabbed it, and was in one big fat fist fight with Adair, punching and kicking hard as the other cons nearby, chanted, "CATFIGHT, CATFIGHT, CATFIGHT CATFIGHT!!" and cheered on. Adair, with out her glasses, only got in a few hits, and it got even tougher without her shank. Brittany, on the other hand, was winning, slamming her punches in a brutal comination with her kicks,  
knowing when to dodge and when to hit and when to kick--even when to head butt. Finally, the former head cheerleader landed a series of finishing slugs to the Aussie's nose, eye and jaw, Adair falling to the ground, looking up and groggily saying, "You've been taking cheerleader practice!!"

"I WAS a head cheerleader once," said Brittany, "and I happen to be more than you think, Adair--and it's not just my bimboisms. So hear me out:  
I ain't your 'sheila,' nor your so called 'bride.' Got it?"

Squinting in her fury, Adair roared, as she got up, "It ain't over yet!! I'LL FILLET YOUR &^*#%$, YOU F**KWIT!!!!!!! YOU YOBBO!!!!!!! YOU STARTED THE BARNEY, YOU SHOULD'VE RACKED OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Suddenly, Adair grimaced as if she was hit with a migraine, just as several prison guard officers arrived, then held her head, tensing up and yelled,  
" BUGGER!! ME HEAD!!!!" before she fell to the ground.........dead.

For the moment, the gathered crowd stood silent in amazement and shock,  
Brittany, worrying if her punches, kicks and head butts had been the cause of Adair's death, even as the officers surrounded her, and securing her wrists with some belted manacles.......

"I am absolutely ashamed of you, Taylor," said Geoff Forrestal, the warden of the correctional facility, a man that looked like a cross between Ming The Merciless and Satan, as he was admonishing the blonde in his spartan office. "Just because you were living the lifestyle of the rich and famous doesn't give you the right to brawl with one of the convicts, much less a trustee. You should show some respect to the rules of order and discipline,lest the whole prison be a bedlam. Sure, we're familiar with the bullying ways Celbano used to make sex slaves out of the weakest women and even discreetly hurt them, but keeping the peace and putting someone like her is our job. And yet you claim she's been responsible for the discreet deaths of her past lovers?"

"Based on some evidence some of my cell mates found in the trash later," said Brittany, "who's to argue? But I swear to you, so help me, I never hit Adair that hard to kill her."

"That part I believe," said Geoff, who looked over the reports in his hand. "According to our prison coroner, it seems Celbano had the bad luck to die from an undiagnosed brain aneurysm. True, your punches and kicks, didn't trigger it, yet I wouldn't be surpised if her bad temper she had the whole time she was in jail may be the catalyst for her surprise end." Calming down, he added, "Well.......no matter what triggered it,  
we can be sure that with Celbano out of the picture, maybe the place can calm down.  
she sure didn't care for no one at all..........but the fact remains that you broke a rule, given the rep of our prison; I believe a month in solitary, as well as your sentence updated to 14 years should make a better model out of you."

"EEP!!" said the blonde. "Shades of Ms. Li."

"What can I say?" said Geoff, shrugging. "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.  
By the way, were you referring to Angela LI?"

Though her victory over Adair was bittersweet, her month in a dark cell in solitary gave Brittany time to ponder her fate; though at last, she and many other victims were at last out of bondage from Adair, there was always the fear that somone else much tougher and troublesome would pick up where the Aussie left off. And yet bittersweet still, was the fact that instead of 12 years, the blonde now had 14 years in jail--not the best thing to look foward to, but since Deidre also had 14 years, at least--if there were no hitches--she and Brittany would be paroled together.

By the time her stay in solitary was complete, Brittany came beck to the cell she shared with Deidre, many of the other cons staring at her in amazement, some in reverence, because up to now, no one had the courage to stand up to Adair,  
so much of the women in The Oakwood Women's Correctional Jail saw the Austrailian as their most hated enemy, but now that Brittany had stood up to and bested her,  
with some help from some divine help, several of them hailed her as a heroine, giving her some respect.

Arriving at the mess hall that day, Brittany was greeted by an ecstatic Deidre who ran up to her, saying, "Bree!! Welcome back, sweetie!! Did you hear what's been said here?  
You're a heroine ever since you stood up to and creamed that Adair. Since then, things have been quiet here. I tell you, that Aussie devil got what she deserved when it came to that aneurysm."

"Strange how that worked out, huh?" said the blonde. "But that don't mean there's someone just as troublesome as Adair was, waiting to cut me."

"I wouln't doubt that," said Deidre. "Now that you're top gun here, everyone's going to want you to draw, in effect."

Thankfully, there wasn't that many troublesome cons willing to pick a fight, since Adair's death, so in that way, 14 years passed, as long as Brittany and Deidre stayed out of trouble most of the time. By that time, gone were the blonde's teen years; she and Deidre were now women, 14 years gone, wasted by fate.

On that day, after those said 14 years, Deidre and Brittany were in their cell, ready to start a new day, when an officer came up to their door with two folders in one hand and said,  
"Taylor, Aragon, your paroles just came--you're now free women."

"You joking, right?" said a hesitant Deidre.

"Nope, I ain't joking," said the officer.

"Then....when can we step out?" said a surprised Brittany.

"Right now," said the officer, who handed the women their folders, "the deprocessing section's waiting for you."

Collecting up whatever possessions they had in their cell, Brittany and Deidre headed for the deprocessing section, where they were given new clothing and some money and whatever personal items they had when they came in, then at last, they were outside for good, standing on the long road ahead to Oakwood, before they jumped, squealed and held each other.

"Yay!!" cheered Brittany, "we're free!!"

"Check it out, huh," said Deidre, "the GREAT outdoors!!"

"We've been outside before," said the blonde.

"But not as a chain gang," said Deidre. "Well, let's get a bus and get to the next town to get some way to reach Texas."

"Before we do," said the former head cheerleader, "from now on, I want you to just call me Brittany."

"Done," said Deidre. "What's the other?"

"Let's take the bus to Lawndle first," said Brittany. "There's one last thing to do there."

After taking the bus to Lawndale, Brittany and Deidre were at Four Pace Hill, standing before the pauper's grave of Doug, Chrlene and Kevin Thomson, the blonde kneeling before her late boyfriend's grave, in the hopes of making peace in spirit as well as paying her last respects.

"Kevvy," brittany was saying, "Please......forgive me for lying to you at graduation, and forgive me for my lack of patience. I only did whay I thought was right at the time, but if I had know a bear would eat you......I would've made amends.......rest in peace."

That said, the blonde got up, turned to Deidre, and cried bitterly as her friend held her, in sorrow and in relief, now that she had made peace.........and soon, a long journey was ahead.......

Free at last, our heroines have been, but trouble's a brewin'.

Yet another glossary to Adair's Aussie speak:  
Barney: Row, fight, argument. Bugger: Darn - a common expression of bad luck, not offensive to most. Crikey: an exclamation like "My gosh".;  
Rack off: Scram, get lost. Too right: I agree. (see Jailbird Blues)  
Yobbo: Someone a bit uncouth.

--a440.

Coming up: Deep In The Heart Of Texas 


	6. Deep In The Heart Of Texas

Getting there to fufill ambition is only half the fun, so they say.  
--a440.

Deep In The Heart Of Texas

At first, Brittany thought Deidre was insane, when it came to stowing a ride on an intermodal freight train to Highland, Texas, after all, with today's homeland security scanning the containers for smuggling, illegal aliens and terrorists, along with the fact that stowing away on railroad property was a crime, but as Deidre pointed out, the limited amount of money wasn't enough to get to their destination, especially in matters of motels and food. Besides, back in the days when she was a car parts thief, hitching rides on trains was how she traveled from state to state.

"You know," cautioned the blonde, "if we get busted, it'll mean back in the big house. I don't wanna be violated by another lezzie like Adair Celbano who did me in."

In the end, the ladies stowed into a Maryesk container loaded with furniture, that was to be transported on a BSNF intermodal train fleet bound for Highland, Texas, Daria and Quinn's old hometown before they moved to Lawndale. Even so, Brittany would keep an ear and eye out for any "railroad detectives." Still, even she knew riding a freight train was dangerous and foolhardy, but who was willing to argue with a friend that was once a car thief? Especially when she and Deidre had no money to travel and hitch hiking was just as dangerous as stowing away. In any case, for the next few weeks,  
the women, using the cargo boxes that contained the furniture and their belongings and blankets, and whatever food they had, traveled in a container which was stacked atop another in a 7000 foot highballing container fleet, the heavy rumble now and then, along with the clicking of wheels sometimes sounding like "tiddy bopper" at the high speeds, speeding on through the day and night, the doppler passing sounds of railroad crossing bells and the train horn sounding; sometimes stopping for refueling the twelve locomotives that pulled the train, other times, the sound of the clicking wheels and the crossing bells lulling them to sleep at night.

One morning, the train was highballing down a main line under a big cantilevered signal bridge, when the girls were laying on blankets on the floor of the container interior, sleeping--and Deidre woke up and nudged Brittany, saying, "Hey, up an atom, Britt, we're almost in Highland in an hour."

Groggily yawning, the blonde got up and said, "How can you tell?"

"I did some calculations and timing," said Deidre, and given the amount of timing, speed and days it would take to reach Highland, I figured today was that day."

"I sure am going to miss the container," said the former cheerleader. "It's going to be tough cleaning up the inside of the container so it looks as it was when we found it."

"So's sneaking out from the container before it gets offloaded without the fuzz discovering we're here," said Deidre.

Thankfully, their container was crane lifted from its railroad car and onto a truck trailer, which was then driven out from the yard, and down on one of Highland's streets; as luck would have it, the intermodal truck pulled to a stop at a truck stop diner before the driver went into the diner. After a minute,  
the container doors opened and Deidre stuck her head out, said, "It's safe," then she and Brittany jumped out with their belongings, slammed the doors of their container and traveled on foot down one street after another, until they reached a sprawling trailer park named The Lone Starlite Trailer Park.

"We're here," said Deidre. "My old home, can you believe that?"

"Avarage kitsch, ew," said a worn out Brittany.

The pair went into the park, coming to a stop at a peach and white mobile home type trailer with a peach colored foundation, hanging wind chimes here and there, and a 30 something blonde in a summer dress tending to the plants all over the place; upon spotting the women, she jovially came to them, her Texas accent evident as she said,  
"Deidre!! When'd you get sprung out?"

"Weeks ago," said Deidre who hugged the newcomer. "Thanks for looking after my place and the plants while I was in the big house."

"Now maybe you may learn that stealing cars was bad news, just like I told you," said the 30 something blonde. "You're lucky I had a lot of spare time in my busy work schedule at The Highland Hospital. by the way, who's your friend?"

Gesturing to Brittany, then to her old friend, Deidre said, "She's Brittany Taylor, a new friend of mine I met in jail," said Deidre. "Britt, meet my good friend and medic at The Highland Hospital, Dr. SuBeth Hyland, M.D. Britt's staying with me at my place so she can get a new job."

"Any friend of Deidre's," said SuBeth, who shook Brittany's hand, "is a friend of mine." Whatever you two do, be careful--Todd and his gang have been plum loco on the drug rampage and those two dum dums; Beavis and his Butt Head were last seen stealing a riding mower."

"Hiya," said the blushing blonde.

Following her friend, who got her keys back from SuBeth, Brittany entered her new home, thankful the M.'t know it was the same Brittany who was famous only to lose all her money, fame and nearly much else in disgrace. Inside the trailer, everything belied the kitsch exterior as the interior show half pawn shop, half utiltarian with make up, Hello Kitty and anime decor and frilled beds and dressers.  
a 20 inch LCD TV mounted on the wall.

"We'll take a nap after such a long journey, get some eats, and look for a job," said Deidre.

Humbled by the IRS and divorce and losing her children to death along with her money, fame and possessions,  
and humbled further by her 14 year jail time, Brittany felt she had been reborn, that the experience had marked,  
in effect, the end of an era--and the start of a new one. Thankfully, she and Deidre got used to her new home in Highland, eventually getting a job at The Ice Brr'g Ice Cream Co., where each day, the ladies dressed like a pair of Eskimos set for the Industrial Revolution, by donning two pairs of gloves, four coats and snow leggings and ice caps, all crucial to enter one of the huge storage chamber in which the tempature was zero minus twelve Fahrenheit, where Brittany and Deidre were to take off cartons of ice cream off a conyeyor belt and stack them on tall roller racks by flavor for $12.00 an hour. At least it was a job nonetheless.

From time to time, Brittany would often have nightmares of Adair bullying then violating her, to the point of the blonde waking up in tears, and since there was only one bed for now, she had to share it with Deidre, who more ofeten than not, would be there to comfort her, saying, "Was it Adair again?"

"It was....," wept the former cheerleader.

That wasn't all--on their first day on the job, Brittany and Deidre had come home and checked out on the flat screen,  
a broadcast of Good Mornings With Daria & Jane, when Daria was saying, "Well, in case you didn't figure it out, today's special edition is 'Whatever Happen To The Lawndale High Cheerleading Squad?'

"No foolin', eh?" said Jane.

"Well, it took a lot of work on the net, but we did get results," said the auburn. "Anyhow, first off is Angie, or is that Angie The Aggressor?--currenty the NASCAR champion for the seventh time in a row."

"EEP!!" said Brittany. "Angie, a race car star?!?"

"She sure knows how to burn up any track, if not any guy's heart," said the Lanegal. "Who else?"

"Then," said Daria," there's Lisa, whose latest romance novel, The Jock & Me just hit number one on the book lists for the 40th time."

"40th time?" said Jane. "What a world record."

"Last of all," said Daria, "is Nikki, the current sous chef at the world famous Rainbow Hotel in Miami, which earned 12 star ratings in all the critics choices."

"Not bad, indeed," said Jane," but what 'bout Brittany?"

"Brittany who?" said the auburn.

"Brittany Taylor, the head cheerleader, the one that claimed to be your friend," said Lane gal.

"Her?" said the auburn disdainfully. "She's no friend of mine, since she lost her money grubbing and cheating husband and children in that plane crash, then lost all her money and got her butt tossed in the caliboose. I say, place her on the Missing In Action list."

"What a waste," said Jane. "And now I heard her jock boyfriend and his folks died in a bear attack. Quite a waste of talent and a dreadful end for those two."

"Anyhow," said Daria, "now that we've got that out of the way, we'll get to debating on Nietzsche after the next commercial."

"Right here on Good Mornings With Daria & Jane," said the Lane gal.

Brittany felt betrayed.....not only had her fellow cheerleaders had done well, but even Daria and Jane, two friends she had known for years in Lawndale High had done the same thing her father and stepmother had done--turn their backs on her without a fare thee well, so it was no wonder she wound up crying bitterly--for the second time,  
just as it would be the second time Deidre would hug her in comfort before saying, "You.......you're THE Brittany Taylor that became famous, only to lose it all....."

"All right, so you know!!" wailed the blonde, feeling her failure was complete, fearing the worst, yet the didn't stop her friend from holding her closer........and saying, "So what if I did? Like it or not, you've got a friend in me.I mean,  
it's not everyday I meet a celebrity in jail, if not a fallen celeb."

"You don't care....?" wept Brittany.

At that moment, a new voice, yet another blonde somewhat the near same age as SuBeth was at the door. in a yellow muu muu, saying, "Is that you, Deidre? When'd you get into town?"

Hearing that, Deidre said, "Pardon me," then went to the front door and opened it, allowing the newcomer to enter and to say, "Vivian!! Long time no see!! I didn't 'spect you to show up yet!! How's Miami?"

Entering the house, Vivian and Deidre ame to where Brittany was, the blonde only hearing the newcomer's name.  
was that her original mother's name......? Solmehow, it seemed so, because Vivian chanced to spot the blonde, and in hesitant amazement, said, "Brittany......? Is that you? I heard you lost your husband and money......and got jailed.  
you all right?"

Hearing that, the former cheerleader turned to where Vivian was and said, "Mom..........?!?"

"Brittany!!" wept Vivian, who now held out her arms.

"Mom!!" sobbed Brittany, running into the big hug of a weeping Vivian, mother and daughter holding each other and crying happy tears in their first reunion in years.

When there's bad sometimes there's good as well.  
--a440.

Coming up: The Angel Of Death. 


	7. The Angel Of Death

Show me someone that claims they're above the law, and I'll show you someone that claims they're above death.  
--a440.

The Angel Of Death

Hours after that tearful reunion, Brittany,  
Deidre and Vivian were grouped 'round the dining room tabe, filling each other in of their past experiences.

"Why did you cut out on me an' dad in the first place?" said the blonde.

"Long story," replied Vivian, sighing. "You see,  
me and your dad were married at age 18,  
which we thought was wasn't the right age to marry--only we didn't know it at the time.  
Even so, I felt like I had comitted the biggest sin no mother in her right mind would do-  
abandon her daughter. At one time or another,  
I thought of taking a Grayhound to Lawndale,  
but I was so bull headed then, yet I did keep an eye on you, even when you broke off from your boyfriend..........and I was sorry to hear of his death. May he and his parents rest in peace.  
Anynhow, for the most part, it was in Texas that I met Deidre and SuBeth; I was shocked that she was a car thief and time and again,  
SuBeth and me would try to persuade her to stop her car theft ways, saying to her,  
'You play with a rattlesnake, you get bit'  
But would she listen? Anyhow, she got jailed just as you did at the same time......and the rest is history. I only hope you can forgive me for having abandoned you, and now that we've been humbled, we can atone for our sins."

"If you only knew," said Brittany, "how much and how long I missed you. I was ruined by a tough convict from Austrailia, who was also scaring a lot of the orther women as well. It took a lot of courage to stand up to her, and fate to put her away for good. If it hadn't been for Deidre giving me courage to pull through, before and after we got out from jail, I would've been nuts!!"

"Oh-oh," said Deidre, "here comes trouble. It's Todd and his bunch!!"

Just then, a speeding junky car, with Todd, a handful of his gang members and their babes, sped through the trailer park, belching and whooping it up, crashing through trash cans, bushes and lawn flamingos, eventually tearing through Deidre's front lawn, and that was when Todd tossed a paper bag in the driveway, before he and his rollicking bunch sped out into the street and were gone.

"What a mess," said Vivian. "Let's check for any damage."

Coming outside, the trio could see there wasn't much damage to the yard, save for the paper bag that had landed on the driveway........and that was when fate and stupidity would play a part........that would seal Brittany's fate for keeps. In short, the blonde went to the bag, picked it up, and said, "What kind of trash is in there?" before she rummaged in it.

"Hey, be careful," warned Deidre. "You don't know what could be be in there."

"Huh?" said the bimbo, then added, "OUCH!! What stuck me?!?"  
and pulled her hand out, a drop of blood from her center finger oozing out as she ran to the trash can and dumped out its contents--twelve syringes, all with bloodied needles.

"I told you not to stick your hand in there," said Deidre. "We'd best take those needles to SuBeth; they could be tainted with drugs, or worse, HIV blood. Vivian, can you clean Brittany's finger with bleach, hot water, soap and alcohol?"

But even after Brittany's finger had been cleaned and the needles turned over to the police, it seemed it was a big deal to the blonde who would kick herself for having stuck her hand in the bag in the first place. But even as SuBeth Hyland and her medical staff were examining the needles, no doubt drug needles, at least the bimbo had no traces of drugs in her blood, but there was something else; weeks after the needle stick accident had taken place,  
Brittany, who was working in The Ice Brr'g Ice Cream Co., felt a bit sweaty, heavily sweaty and she was in an ice cold place. Then, at night, sleeping on the bed she and Deidre shared, the bimbo was heavily sweating again, despite the central air at the max,  
and, as the days passed, headaches, fever, upset stomach and diarrhea followed, with coughing, swollen lymph node glands and a slight rash, all of which in six months time cleared up. At first, Deidre, Vivian and SuBeth were worried, and even asked if Brittany should be examined, but the blonde shook that off as tainted drinking water, maybe food poisoning--big mistake.

So far, for the next eight years, the bimbo had no signs of the ailment that lasted for six months, but afterwards, one night, the sweats came back, and in the days ahead, she had periodic rashes, critical weight loss, headaches,  
red to purple blemishes on her head and body, throwing up, body aches, fatigue,  
oral throat problems, weakness and some lesions in addition to the other symptoms she head eight years ago since she stuck her finger on one of Todd's drug needles.  
And needless to say, Deidre was worried, fearing that it had to had been that needle that had more than drugs, that the needle may had been contaminated with the Human Immuninodeficiency Virus (HIV), the seed of the Accouired Immunino Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a fact that promped SuBeth to recheck on the examination on those needles eight years ago, which verified those needles did have HIV--that, in itself, along with the chronic symptoms Brittany was in the grip of, now showing no signs of stopping,  
which had the M.D. arrange for a test, even doing a biopsy on one of the lesions, a blood test, everything.

By the time the results came back, Brittany was getting frailer all the time, having a hard time standing unless she would prop herself on the wall, to the point she had no choice but to quit her job. Right now, she was laying on the sofa, checking the news with Deidre and Vivian, when the phone rang; picking it up, the blonde said, almost weakly, "Yo."

"It's me, SuBeth," said the voice on the other end. "Britt....you shouldv'e gotten tested and treated when you had the chance eight years ago, for that matter, you should've never stuck your hand in that bag at all--all because of that, you signed your death warrant. Anyhow, the biopsy, your blood test, the works all verify beyond any doubt, that you've not only become HIV positive, you've also got full blown AIDS.  
I only wish I was mistaken, that it's one big mistake, that your test results were switched with someone else's, but no--you've got HIV and AIDS. And before you say 'Let's get tested by some other doc in one of the bigger cities for a second opinion,' I had those tests done by the best docs in Texas. The way I see it,  
it's hard to say how long you've got to live. If only you had gotten tested and treated when you had the chance years ago, you could've bought some time to live longer, but.......please don't sue me, OK?"

"Oh no......., I'll get back to you on that," said the bimbo that hung up, then croaked, "AIDS.....EEP!! I've got AIDS...................!!"

"AIDS.................................?!!!!!?" said Deidre and Vivian.

"AIDS," said Brittany. "Now my dad and stepmom will truly hate me for sure......."

Devine retribution or accident? You decide.  
--a440

Coming up: Life Functions Terminated 


	8. Life Functions Terminated

Some wag in an action adventure game once said that death doesn't mean defeat.  
--a440

Life Functions Terminated

With time staggering on, Brittany, aware that her time on earth was getting short, had Deidre take her to a Catholic church, where she would be baptized as a Roman Catholic, then confess all her sins, every last one of them to a priest. and just in time before the ADIS tore through her body without mercy, her body covered in Karposi's Sarcoma (purple and red bruise like lesions), her hair falling out, difficulty breathing and coughing, not in that order. Once, she and Deidre saw on the TV, the news headline, AIDS KILLS HIGHLAND GANG LEADER, and knew it had to be Todd.

"Serves him right," said Deidre. "Least it proves there's some divine crimestopping. And that Beavis and Butthead will be pleased with that."

But after that report, and a commercial, the news came back on with FORMER SUPERSTAR TURNED JAILBIRD BRITTANY TAYLOR IN AIDS SHOCK: "DO I LOOK LIKE I'M DYING FROM AIDS?" BRISTLES BRITTANY.

Seeing that, Brittany and Deidre were thunderstruck--and even more when the report went on saying that the blonde had been using dirty needles, according to a nurse at the Highland Hospital, and that a camera bug, no doubt tipped off by the same nurse, had taken a telephoto lens shot of the trailer home. The report, overall, led people to speculate that Brittany was doing drugs and had shared her needles with someone with HIV.

"SuBeth, that *%#$^&," muttered Deidre. "Wait'll I get my paws on her."

So when Vivian and SuBeth dropped in, Brittany and Deidre confronted them with what they knew of the news report, Vivian agahst and SuBeth livid, muttering, "So help me, I'll read the riot act on those nurses, I strongly told them to keep it a secret!! Unless the press bribed them to spill the beans."

But that wasn't all--in later news reports, Steve ans Ashley Amber Taylor were found dead in an auto crash when a careless police patrol officer cut in from of them on the Interstate, causing Steve to lose control of his car, resulting in the car crashing and exploding into the side of a guardrial, the flames burning the Taylors almost beyond reconigtion; the officer was stripped of his rank and badge, ordered to pay for the funeral costs for the Taylors and was now serveing time for 12 years in jail. When Vivian and Brittany heard the news on the TV, they cried for days. At least Steve and Ashley Amber were spared the news of their former daughter's fate, now that they were buried in the Lawndale Peacful Times Cemetary.

Which each passing day, month and year, Brittany's physical appearance was beginning to change and she looked thinner, despite her wearing a brave face, not an easy thing with much of the Texas press camping out a few yards outside The Lone Starlite Trailer Park. Finally, with Vivian's help, the blonde arranged for a special press conference outside the park, with Deidre, Vivan and SuBeth at her side, each verifying that the bimbo was no drug freak, that she stuck herself with the needle that a drug addict tossed in her yard and that it was an accident. When it came to be her turn, Brittany said to the press, "Yes,  
I do have AIDS, but what I don't have was a drug addiction. I could've gotten tested and gotten HIV treatment to buy some time so I could live longer, but i wasn't sur if one tiny needlestick could do that to me, I mean, I thought I had a flu from drinking tainted water,  
even eaten tainted food, but I learned the hard way I had AIDS, and in not acting in time,  
I signed my death warrant. I used to think my old boyfriend, the late Kevin Thomson, may he rest in peace, was the only idiot then, but it turns out, he wasn't the only one......so I guess I too, can be an idiot myself for sticking my hand where it don't belong, in the name of curiousity. Forgive me all, and Daria, Jane, in case you cane see me, forgive me.."

After the conference, the blonde was surprised to see Daria and Jane, in their blouses, skirts and blazers in the trailer house, the former saying, "Sorry if we were poorly to you,  
but that was for the benefit of the public then."

"Our apologies, Eep Eep, It's The Road Runner," said Jane. "Sometimes, it takes a brave woman like you to tell the truth. We're sorry for what happened to Kevin and his folks and for yours as well."

"At least you didn't lose faith in me," said the bimbo.

"At least we didn't lose our self respect," said Daria.

Time passed and Brittany's health continued to deteriorate, with her thin, and to the point where it was difficult to sleep, the fact she would be coming to the end of her life, yet thankful that at least she not only pointed out the truth to the masses, she made peace with Daria and Jane; in fact, they had plenty of time off to stay in the trailer house to help Deidre, Vivian and SuBeth. For that matter, all women had their cell phones at the ready, to summon one another at any moment, wanting to help and stay with the blonde to the end. And given the fact the bimbo looked worse than Deidre had seen her, the markings on her face and body highlighting her gaunt features, always tiring all the time,  
the move was a wise choice, with Brittany taking to her bed for long parts of the day,  
drinking only hot water, which SuBeth said was easy for her throat.

Aware that she wasn't going to live much longer, Brittany called for a priest to give her last rites, and was dabbed on with holy oil, Daria, Jane and SuBeth with regret,l Deidre with sorrow and Vivian with fear of losing her daughter. After that, the blonde no longer had the strengh to even attend church services, much less walk around the place like she used to. Indeed, most of the time after that, all Brittany did was sleep, read her bible and see TV, with all five women looking after her, changing shifts, all aware that time was so strongly running out for Brittany, each woman taking turns to stay with the bimbo through the night, usually lying awake next to her on constant stand-by.

Towards the last few days, possibly due to difficulty swallowing, Brittany had stopped eating solid foods and depended only on hot water, and upon finishing her latest examination, SuBeth announced, "What can I say? Brittany's likely to last till Friday."

Later that night, Vivian was next to lay on the bed next to her dying daughter, who would gently elbow her if she need anything.

One morning, on Friday the 13th, Brittany, who had been drifting in and out of sleep, said her last words to Vivian, "Toilet, toilet," meaning she had to be helped to the toilet; afterwards, back to the bed for her, but when Vivian tried to lower the deteriorating blonde on the bed, fleash from the bimbo's legs strated crumbling off like a fish shedding its scales--and there was heard a deafening crack, Brittany's bones breaking, cracking like tree branches, so it was no wonder she took to yelling out in pain, convulsing. It took a shot of painkillers from SuBeth to calm Brittany down and an hour for the drugs to take effect. Even so, Vivian was bawling her head off for having hurt her daughter.

Later that same day, poor Brittany was as sicker as anyone had seen her, to the piont of wasting in her long t shirt and her boy shorts. At first, she seemed to know what was going on around, but couldn't respond to any of it; she could hear, but couldn't move her eyes to indicate she'd heard. She just stared straight ahead, eyes glazed, like a diseased zombie, the angel of death looming over her.. Right now, it was Daria and Jane's turn to carry her to the toilet, then to bring her back when she had finished, just as Vivian, Deidre and SuBeth finished making up her bed. But no sooner had the auburn and the Lane gal laid the blonde on the bed, they could see in the face, that Brittany was dead.

"We just lost her," said Daria.

"My daughter's dead?!?" said Vivian, fearfully.

"Looks like," said Jane.

"Lord have mercy on me and her," sobbed SuBeth, just as Vivian follwed suit; Deidre slipped her arm under Brittany's neck, kissed her and then held her, crying like a scared girl.

A judgement? A way out? Did our prodigal daughter make it home?  
--a440

Coming up: Epilogue. 


	9. Epilogue

With apologies to Shakespere, parting is such sour sorrow.  
--a440.

Epilogue

After having her last rites prior to her death, Brittany requested to Su Beth that she be buried in a pauper's grave next to the Thomsons' on Four Pace Hill, especially next to Kevin's grave.  
Afterwards, Vivian, died of heartbreak, despite having been placed on a suicide watch; according to SuBeth, medically, Vivian seemed to be in perfect health, but for reasons she couldn't explain, Vivian died nonetheless. But then, the MD quit her job at the hospital and hung up her practice, stating in her letter of resignation to the hospital's director that she would hang herself if asked to treat people again, adding, "If only I had persuaded that woman to get tested and treated for HIV sooner when she had the chance, if only I had stopped her from sticking her hand in the bag of needles, if only I had saved her from dying, if only, if only.........."

Little did SuBeth know was that fate would close the circle for her when she would lose her life in a gas explosion, trying to fix a leaky water heater.

Daria and Jane, for their part, arranged a special hour long tribute to Brittany on their Good Mornings WithDaria & Jane Show, offering their own apologies as well. For that matter, a lot of people would owe the blonde an engraved apology that day.

And Deidre? Since Brittany's death, she sold everything she had and atoned for her sins by joining a convent, and was serving her new lease of life as a nun.  
but she never forgot her friends, one of which had been united by fate at The Oakwood Women's Correctional Jail years ago.............now a prodigal daughter.

the end

One thing's for sure: Brittany may be reunited with Kevin in spirit in whatever afterlife they may be.

Dedicated to the voice actor behind the Lawndale Lions' QB.  
--a440. 


End file.
